Sidley Secures Trial Victory for the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board

Sidley recently achieved a complete victory on behalf of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, the body created under the Illinois Constitution to investigate and prosecute complaints of misconduct and incapacity against Illinois state court judges. Chicago partner Kevin Fee serves as Trial Counsel to the Board and is responsible for prosecuting all complaints brought before the Illinois Courts Commission seeking discipline for judges in violation of the state’s canons of judicial conduct. Last October Sidley filed a four-count complaint on the Board’s behalf against Judge Patrick O’Shea, Circuit Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit, for violating the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct when he lied to police after firing a revolver through a neighbor’s living room wall; lied under oath while testifying before the Board about the same incident; and attempted to retaliate against two female court employees who had lodged separate sexual harassment complaints against him. Fee, along with Chicago associate Josh Fogarty, tried the case last week before a seven-member Courts Commission panel, with Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke presiding. It was a complex case with the Board calling a dozen witnesses, including judges, police officers and the victims of the judge’s misconduct. For the first time in recent memory, the Commission issued its ruling from the bench at the conclusion of the hearing, finding in favor of the Board on all four counts. The Commission will issue its written order (including its ruling on discipline) in the coming weeks.